F1, Italian Grand Prix: Race Predictions

The fastest circuit of Formula One did indeed live up to its expectations. The exhilarating qualifying session left everybody watching, breathless. As we now turn to the main event, every member of the sea of red bathing the stands in Monza would be hoping that the positions at the top don’t change at all.Ferrari locked out the front row, with Kimi Räikkönen clinching his first pole position at Monza since 2006. To top it off, Sebastian Vettel followed his teammate to P2, ahead of championship rival, Lewis Hamilton.Italian Grand Prix Qualifying ClassificationThe average speed record has been in place for a long time and it was finally beaten this year. The Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton came through the line with a new lap record to its name, but that did not last as long as the Briton would have hoped.Both the Ferrari cars quickly one-upped him and Kimi Räikkönen took the spoils with a timed lap of 1:19.119. The new record now states a speed of 163.785 mph around the circuit of Monza. That was not the only record that the Finn shattered as he also became the oldest pole sitter in the history of Formula One since Nigel Mansell in 1994The other surprise element of the session was Sergio Perez losing out on a Q2 entry because his team chose not to send him out for another run. While they believed the Mexican’s set time to be safe from others below him, he was pushed down by only a thousandth of a second as Romain Grosjean dropped him into the elimination zone.Let us have a look at five race predictions for the Italian Grand Prix:#5 Gasly justifies Red Bull seatF1 Grand Prix of Italy - QualifyingPierre Gasly has become one of Formula One’s rising stars. He has time and again delivered results for Toro Rosso and the Italian Grand Prix qualifying was no different. As nip and tuck as the competition were, the 22-year-old held onto his nerves and ensured his team the entry into the Q3.To make his performance seem even better, his teammate, Brendon Hartley was eliminated in the first part of qualifying and was stuck in P18. Gasly is only into his first complete F1 season and is already bringing in results for the team. It can be expected that the French driver retains his place in the points on Sunday as he starts in 9th place.

F1, Italian Grand Prix: Race Predictions

#2 Max Verstappen in the mix